Interpreting our Inner-Voice

We've touched on how comparison gets in our way. Comparison serves as an enemy at all stages of our fitness journey. Dirty little secret: trainers struggle with comparison just as much as their clients do. 

"If only I looked like them"

"Why are they more successful than me?"

"Do their clients like them more than mine like me?" 

These aren't uncommon phrases I say to myself, as do most trainers. The problem with those statements and questions is that they don't account for our current trajectory. We're putting in the work to look like that, and if we keep it up, and we will. I just started my business a year ago, where were they a year after starting theirs? Comparing yourself now to where another person is (who is years ahead), or where you think you could/should be is a false equivalency.  What that voice is really saying is this: "that's what we want", and "we don't have it yet". That's it. That's all it means. It has no other base in reality than serving as an indicator for the direction in which our energy and focus should be directed. We're doing all of the steps, and we know the shortcuts aren't good for us in the long run. Whether it be billionaires, small business owners or even recent college graduates: they all look back more fondly on the journey than they do the destination. We aren't any different. The difficulty, the lack of motivation or the loud voice of the inner critic are all indicators of a new version of yourself that is right around the corner. Keep putting in the work, making the decisions we know get us to where we want to go, and account for those nine good decisions before letting one bad one convince you it's a lost cause. You're probably a lot closer than you think you are. (I say to myself)